Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Jane and Dale (a wife and husband team in Los Angeles) designedthe Message Bag with printed graphic interpretation of two lifestyle mantras.
“It is what it is.”
“Everything happens for a reason”

If you have been around this blog..., these phrases might sound familiar to you.

They are inspired by Japanese Wabi-Sabi philosophy which accepts and celebrates imperfection in life. They have been a source of inspiration for us in creativity and life... a graceful attitude which we aspire to live up to on good days but also on not so good days.

In designing the Message Bag, Jane and Dale interpreted these phrases and created engaging, fashion forward prints that visually communicated the literal messages through typography. These clean and clever concepts focus on humor, play and a secondary read.

In their Los Angeles studio, the limited edition design is hand screen printed on white and black canvas bags made by Baggu. They are high quality everyday tote/shoulder bags with a sense of attitude... sold exclusively through our baum-kuchen shop.

I would love to follow up with another post to highlight our collaboration process... but for now...enjoy the photos (with lovely models, Jane & Dale) and a short clip of our very special Message Bag!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Happy weekend! We had a very Japanese inspired Thanksgiving dinner with family. Just the way we love it. Whole family sharing great homemade food.

My friends tell me that I am a foodie... I am not sure if I am a kind of foodie who is really picky about specific flavors... but I am a kind of foodie who loves food for the sake of experience with friends and family. It's so much fun when the kitchen table becomes a hub of conversation.

Our little roo also LOVES to eat. This weekend she tried little bit of potato, apple and more banana. When we were eating our dinner on Thanksgiving day, little roo refused to go to sleep. She wanted to be at the table with everyone else... I think she already is the kind of foodie. The kind who enjoys her company at the table.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Ever since we purchased this new/old house in last April, we have envisioned using an antique Japanese chest for storing our office supplies. We visited flea market several times, drove to antique warehouse shows... and of course browsed ebay over six months... and FINALLY I am happy to announce that we have found our match on last Sunday.

Originally we were thinking of getting something wider and bigger but when we walked into the local Japanese antique shop Genkai, we knew we needed something that would be manageable in size (especially when we move again... sometime in the future) and have many small compartments in order to organize small office supplies like paper clips. So we ended up purchasing two shelves. One medium size "work chest" and another small chest that can sit comfortably on top of the work chest.

These shelves are a work of beauty! They are from Meiji period (1868-1912) so we know that they are at least 100 years old. But don't be fooled by their age. They are exceptionally well kept and both their hardware as well as their cabinetry are still in very good working condition... and let's not forget that they got some secret compartments to discover! (check out the 4th pic below)

We are so excited that we can't stop starring at them.

I think there is something very special about owning a piece of furniture that goes beyond 3 years of IKEA life cycle. It has history before me and will have more to come after me... (maybe we can pass them to our little roo when she grows older...) They also remind me of my grandparents. I vaguely remember seeing something similar in the corner of their house...

We don't buy many things for the house because we get really picky and we don't like having more "stuff" in our life... but I am so glad we waited for these chests to come around!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

For last few days I've been super busy prepping the shop to introduce a brand new collection with Jane and Dale of TWELVEZEROSEVEN! We did a really cool photo shoot at Art Center South Campus yesterday. It's where our home used to be (hello all nighters...); thus, a very special place.

I love working with talented designers who are committed in creating a great work, be true to their art while having a lot of fun.

We are planning to launch a collection on Wednesday! Still a lot of work ahead of me but I am so thrilled that I can hardly go to bed at night! It's totally a flashback from my all nighter days but in a very very good way!

Friday, November 19, 2010

We started solid foods a while ago... just here and there... and now we regularly share little banana with her for breakfast. She is pretty excited when she sees her spoon. Like a little baby bird with her open mouth.

We are starting to see bibs on her outfit collection too! Doesn't her pink "100% organic" bib look super cute on her?? The photo is my absolute favorite from the week!

The race was a long stretch of Pacific Coast Highway (right along the beautiful southern California beach) with several long uphills at the very end. Just as we promised, we never stopped running and came in right at our goal time - 2 hours 30 minutes. Running with Penelope, my soul sister, was amazing. She gave me inspiration, courage and companionship throughout the 13.1 miles... it was like going through the memory lane from our old running days.

Coach Fier from our cross country team used to say "SISU" to keep us going. It's a Finnish viking word and it loosely translate as "deciding on a course of action and sticking to that decision against the odds...". I have forgotten about this word for last 10 years... but training for this race and running the 13 miles with Penelope brought me back the spirit of SISU.

For me the last three miles were the most painful ones. I could feel that my right calf was borderline cramping and I was praying that it would just sustain itself until we finish.

The moment of the finish line was magical... big crowd and we heard everyone cheering "it's the home stretch!"... then seeing little roo and hubby on the other side...

But just like anything else... the journey to get there was as priceless as the moment of the victory.

Monday, November 15, 2010

I am beyond excitement to share the tiny sneak peek of what is coming to the shop after next weekend. Jane and Dale from TWELVEZEROSEVEN have been busy designing a very first exclusive collection for baum-kuchen. It will be a marriage of their passion for typography and my love for everyday inspiration... threaded with good design!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Tomorrow morning I will be running 1/2 marathon along the beautiful southern California beach.

I've been a runner for almost 15 years. For a few years I run competitively for a college cross country team but mostly I have run for myself. The forward moving motion of running has always propelled positive energy. I get inspired and energized when I am pushing the ground with my running shoes.

I took a long time off from running since I found out that I was pregnant and getting back to my running shoes was challenging... and that's when I decided that I should go for the race. I believe that the self propelled goal is always the most effective one because I can't run away from it and same goes for this race.

I have a lot of anticipation going into the race tomorrow. Last two months' training has been my way of finding a balance between being a mother and myself. The time I have curved out to reflect, rethink and release some of the tension (both good and bad). I know that my training has not been nearly enough so it won't be a cruise. It will hurt and it will be long... but I am determined to run it through no matter how long it might take.

Special thanks to my friend Penelope for joining me tomorrow morning!
And big big thanks to hubby and little roo for going along with the ride. I can't wait to see you guys at the finish line:)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Little roo is a go-getter baby who loves to engage with her toys... (I wonder where she gets that from...)

So in her mind the mobile with these colorful birdies (which is meant to help her soothe and relax while lying underneath)..., is so much cooler at her eye level. She loves to play the game of "catch me if you can" with these birdies.

I love her bright sparkly eyes. They are so full of life and curiosity. Sometimes she has hard time closing them... (aka a day w/o naps) but I think they are so so beautiful.

Guess what my friend Susan found on the last issue of bon appetite magazine? In "Soup and the Single Girl" article..., there are bowls that look just like our French soup bowls! Do you see them? On the third picture... behind the pretty girl on the black shelf?

Okay. It's impossible to tell if these bowls in the magazine are exactly the same ones we have in the shop... but I know these French vintage bowls are hard to come by and their silhouettes are difficult to miss.

Well... no matter what kind of bowls you have in your cupboard, fall and winter is totally appropriate for homemade soup! I know we will be making some in our kitchen.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

As the air gets crispier and the day becomes shorter, I find myself flipping through the pie recipes. Usually dessert is not on my radar in our kitchen since following a very specific baking instruction... goes against my nature.

But last weekend I wanted to slow myself down and focus on one task at a time... baking a pie just seemed perfect.

So here is my version of Vanilla-Spiced Caramel and Pear Tart via Bon Appetite. (find recipe here) I was little intimidated to get started but It was so much easier than it looks on the photo.

... and who can resist the fall flavor of pear and caramel??

We had "dessert for dinner" (yeah... all sugar for dinner...) on Sunday so consumed a huge chunk of it but ended up taking the other big chunk to my play/business date with guys from TWELVEZEROSEVEN. We are marinating a really cool project together right now! I have sneak peak photos so stay tuned:)

Monday, November 8, 2010

I think it's time for me to start sharing my love for some of the products I have in my shop!

The first one in the series is {mt masking tapes}. I totally fell in love with these tapes while we were in Tokyo two winters ago. The variety of fresh colors and pretty patterns is so impressive! I became even a bigger fan when I looked up their background story.

Now very popular mt tapes have a very humble beginning as very utilitarian masking tapes that were used to mask paints and bundle/mark materials at construction sites. But some people (oh these awesome trendsetters!) knew that they could use these tapes for other purposes like photo collage and gift wrap... and shared their passion for masking tapes with mt company. mt company quickly realized the unexpected potential these tapes had and started developing a totally new color palette. These new colors really highlight the "washi" characteristics of mt masking tapes and today they have become the staple of desktop items all over the world.

In the baum-kuchen shop, I hand selected color/pattern combination that felt most suitable for the idea of "simple/beautiful". First three photos are "mint green stripe set" and 4th and 5th pics are "gray grid set". On the very last photo you can see all four color combination we have in the shop!

I love using these tapes around my house. They are great for decorating gifts and bringing colors to my sketchbook! Also the gray grid tape comes very handy as my label. I will put together another post with some usage ideas for these tapes:) If you like, you can check out mt website and get inspiration from other mt fans! (the inspiration page is in Japanese but they are all visual so I am sure you get a good kick out of it!)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

just wanted to give a quick shout that I now have a facebook page for baum-kuchen! I love how facebook page can be little conversational! I think it's a nice compliment to the blog. If you have an moment, check it out:)

If you are a visual person, you might also like the pinterest boards! If you have pinterest accounts too, let me know! I would love to see your visual inspiration.

On Sunday morning we are all in a very good mood... happy and giggly and we love our breakfast. The food looks pretty in the morning light and we have a lot of time to enjoy the farmer's market grapefruits. As we work through our plates, we also flip through a stack of recipe books to decide what we want to eat for next few days. With the air getting little chillier, I am seeing a lot of homemade cooking in our kitchen!